At the beginning of the 2018-19 school year, students were greeted by a new voice over the intercom, thanking them for making the first day easier and welcoming them back to another year. That voice was Cartersville’s new principal, Mrs. Shelly Tierce, who had been the assistant principal in charge of scheduling for the last few years.

One of the biggest challenges for Mrs. Tierce in her new role is managing the uncharacteristically large numbers of new teachers this year as a result of a growing student population. (18 new staff members entered our hallowed halls.) To help both new and established faculty handle the stress and acclimation, she’s changed a few procedures. One notable addition is “Coffee and Conversation,” a laid-back get-together Mrs. Teirce hosts a couple mornings a month, where staff can chill out, ask questions, and get to know other teachers.

Tierce went on to explain that “As assistant principal, my day was very routine,” but now “things are a little bit more chaotic. I’ve had to get used to that and develop a whole new means of organization. My email has probably tripled.”

Mrs. Tierce emphasizes a “global perspective” when adapting to the much wider range of responsibilities as principal. “I have a lot more individual meetings now; more concerns are brought to my attention, not things to ‘fix,’ but to correct and help make [our school and system] better.”

Part of what makes Cartersville so special, she said, was that everyone has their own excellence, whatever that may be. “We maintain a focus on making kids at Cartersville better people. When y’all graduate, I want everyone to go, ‘Wow, they must have gone to Cartersville,’ because of the quality of people we produce here.”

Despite protest from students, Tierce emphasizes that our advisement programs (Habitudes) and Canes Code are more than just rules and lectures, saying they are philosophies students can carry into their everyday lives. “We’re strict on the little things because it makes [students] better people.”

Tierce believes the biggest problem facing youth today is an improper use of social media. “Most drama, most arguments, most everything we have at school that’s a distraction from education stems from social media.” To combat this, the school is implementing a new character education program called “Sources of Strength” to address problems kids don’t even realize they have. “Learning to use social media for good vs bad is a big part of this. [We need to take] any opportunity we get to educate people about the impact it’s having on schools.”

Overall, Mrs. Tierce wants her legacy as a principal to be sincerity. She wants to be remembered as “being sincere about helping kids, caring where they end up and the impact they have on their community.”